Harrison- 2.8 Years (32 Months)

January 14th- February 13th: As I write this post, I become acutely aware of the fact that I have not taken a photo of Harry in his chair in months, and that I never posted the 2 1/2 year letter that I wrote to him (and I am not even sure if I ever finished that note, either). I know that he will not care about these things, but I know that I will. So, my goal is to try and get all those posted soon!

We had to use three words to describe Harry this past week in our ECFE class. Bryan and I had some differences on our lists, but the two that made it on both of our lists were stubborn (imagine that) and kind (or a word close to that). I think that we are happy with both of those traits, and that they seem to fit an almost 3 year old perfectly!

Food: Harry knows what food he likes, and what food he does not! He is very vocal when he sits down to dinner, and it is not something he has tried, or something he has tried and not liked. We are trying to make sure that he is eating new things, and trying new foods. We have been able to talk him into trying one bite, then if he doesn't like it, then he doesn't have to eat anymore. This USUALLY works, but it can also backfire when he takes the bite, doesn't even bother to taste it, and tells you that he does not like it, when in fact, he does. Sometimes only giving him a plate full of less-than-good options requires him to try new things, or go hungry. Only backfire to that plan....hungry kids do not sleep (see the Lodging section).

Lodging: Harrison learned to climb to the top bunk. One night I came home from church and Bryan said something to the effect of "go show mommy your new trick". This usually means that Harry has learned to do something that we had hoped would not happen until he was 27, and this time was no different. Bryan and I had agreed to not attach the ladder to the bunk bed, or his bed would become a jungle gym. Well, he learned to scale the side of the bed, thus making the ladder a safety necessity. He is not free to roam about his bed, though we have not found him on the top bunk in the morning....yet.

He continues to love sleep, which means that we, too, are able to love sleep!

Apparel: I hadn't noticed that this section got left off a few months in a row!! OOPS! He is wearing 3T clothes now.

Communication: Harrison has been such a sweet boy lately. He is consistently using 'please' and 'thank you'. He has been very considerate of others, and showing his understanding of when people are sad, happy or anything in between. He will tell you when the people he is watching are sad or happy. Not only has he become more sensitive to others emotions, but he has also become more sensitive to his own. He laughs at things that we laugh at, or that he just thinks are funny....like a little boy laugh, no longer his baby cackle :( He is starting to become such a little boy in this area, especially when laughing at something that is inappropriate. I had no clue they came wired with this skill.

Transportation: Harrison continues to be a champion in the car. We have taken on a couple long (3-4 hour) car rides over the last month, and both have been very successful with a short nap and no complaints.  He can keep busy with almost anything. We haven't even brought out the DVD player for the last two or three trips.

Entertainment: Crafts, paint, glue, glitter, stickers...anytime any of those things are involved, Harry is all in! He could still take or leave coloring or drawing, but any other form of especially messy "craft" or art, he is willing to try.

We took a cabin trip with Bryan's family- 8 adults and 6 children ages 7 and under. Sadly, my camera battery died halfway through, but we still got a bunch of photos to share from the trip. It was so nice to be at a kid-freindly cabin with enough space for everyone to sleep and everyone roam. We enjoyed big family dinners, lots of card games, ice fishing and singing. We are all excited for the second annual Gregory family retreat (since Harry has not stopped talking about it).

 

A RARE photo with mom. It was from last month, but there are so few that I had to post it even late!

I took Harry to his first play The Diary of a Worm, Spider and Fly at the Stages Theater. It was a HUGE hit, and something we need to do again...SOON!

The REAL reason Harry loves Costco...the tire section.

Saturday morning breakfast with Daddy!

Panera is one of Harrison's favorite places to eat. We had a mom and Harry dinner date while dad did homework.

Chipotle is his other favorite!

We did some belated Christmas celebrating, and some birthday celebrating, too. With a family this big, there is always something fun to celebrate!

Sadly, my camera died halfway through our weekend getaway with all of Bryan's family. So, I will post the photos I do have from a combination of my camera, others and my iPhone (which has pretty awesome photo capabilities, too). As you can tell, the kiddos has just as much fun as the adults!